INDIA bloc protest march against CEC, several leaders detained

High drama unfolded at the INDIA bloc march from Parliament Street to the Election Commission headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday as Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra along with some other supporters entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises in a bid to reach the poll body's office. The Congress leaders along with other MPs were earlier stopped by security personnel on Parliament Street near Niti Aayog office during their march to demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. After being prevented from proceeding further, they sat on the road in protest. Soon Rahul Gandhi and TMC's Abhisekh Banerjee climbed atop a police barricade, while Priyanka Gandhi was taken to a awaiting bus for being detained.  Several opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress MPs Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O'Brien, were detained and taken away in buses.

VIDEO | Delhi: INDIA bloc march to Election Commission stopped by security personnel in front of NITI Aayog office. LoP Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other opposition leaders stopped from proceeding ahead. Leaders sit on the road, raise slogans against CEC. #INDIABloc #CEC #Congress (Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/bIyFWTfmBd)

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Despite being prevented by police, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Deepinder Hooda entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises from the reception gate. They were later seen sitting under a tree. Area Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Sharma reached the spot with a large posse of policemen in a bid to evict the protesting opposition members. During the march, opposition MPs were seen carrying cutouts depicting Kumar in an RSS uniform and raised slogans, including “BJP hai CEC hai”, “Vote chor, gaddi chhod” and “Democracy not for sale”.
The MPs gathered at Parliament's Makar Dwar before setting off towards Nirvachan Sadan, the Election Commission headquarters. Ahead of the march, opposition MPs questioned the security arrangements and stepped up their demand for Kumar's resignation, citing the Supreme Court's observations on changes to Form 6, the statutory application for enrolment as a voter.
The protest comes amid an opposition campaign over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise and reports of differences within the three-member Commission. The poll body has rejected suggestions of a split and maintained that decisions relating to SIR were taken unanimously.